OMAHA, Ne. (KMTV) — The CDC has released new COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 schools. The CDC now recommends students remain three feet apart where mask use is universal, instead of the previously recommended six feet.
Educators said, at this point in the pandemic, they're used to adapting. Schools in the metro area said this new information from the CDC won't change their school operations too much and that they'll continue to follow the health and safety protocols put in place in the beginning of the year.
President of the Nebraska State Education Association, Jenni Benson said distancing in classrooms has been a challenge since the beginning of the pandemic.
"One of the things I have talked about since day one is just the density...the density of classrooms. When you have a small class size and a large classroom, that density isn’t a problem. When you’re in a classroom of 25 kindergartners, there’s going to be issues with distancing," said Benson.
Benson said while the pandemic has proved to be challenging for schools, the new guidelines along with the recent increase in vaccinations for teachers gives them hope.
"Educators across Nebraska, their job is to make sure the needs of their students are being met and they have done that across the state and I think they continue to do that on a daily basis. I think they're tired, they're very tired. It's been a very challenging year but I also think they are very excited for what the future holds," said Benson.
The CDC continues to recommend 6 feet of distance between adults and between adults and children. It also suggested six feet of distance in areas where mask usage is not possible such as lunchrooms.
